Page 4 of Home Town Advantage
He pulls away and peeks into the back of my truck. “Where’s Maddie?”
Finn had asked me to stop by his girlfriend’s house to pick her up on the way here, but not to tell her why. He wanted his last-minute short visit to be a surprise for her.
Finn and Maddie have been on and off together since junior high. He wanted to get married before hisfirst deployment, but she told him she wanted to wait until he was done with his service, which was originally supposed to be only four years. When he didn’t have enough saved for college, he re-enlisted. She was angry and temporarily broke up with him, but they rekindled things when he was last home visiting and plan to get engaged when this final deployment is over in just one more month.
“Her mom said she was at work,” I lie. “You mentioned you wanted it to be a surprise, so I couldn’t exactly pull her away from work without explanation.”
He nods in understanding as his eyes find my backseat again. “I see you got the bouquet I requested.”
“I’m a good listener.” I blow him a kiss. “I love being bossed around by a big, bad, sexy Marine.”
He chuckles as he lifts his wrist and looks at his watch. “I need you to get me an hour away in fifty minutes. Is your slow ass up for the challenge, nineteen?” He’s called me by my number for as long as I can remember.
“Let’s hit it, twenty-two.” And I’ve always called him by his. He was a talented wide receiver in high school, not quite good enough for a college scholarship, but he was my number one target from Pop Warner ball through high school. Us throwing the ball around in the backyard until it was too dark to see was the norm throughout our early childhood.
He tugs on my hair, which I wear a lot longer than I did the last time he saw me. “I hope your long locks don’t slow us down. Fucking hell, you’d be crucified by the guys in my platoon.”
I chuckle as we both get into the truck, and I peel out of there as fast as I can, knowing how important it is for me to get him to our final destination.
He motions toward the cowboy boots I’m wearing. “I can’t imagine you have much need for those in Philadelphia.”
I shrug. “You can take the cowboy out of the small town, but you can’t ever take the small town out of a real cowboy.” Iwink. “Besides, chicks dig the cowboy vibe I bring to the big city.”
He lets out his unique Finn laugh. One I haven’t been able to hear in person in a long time. For some reason, it comforts me. It makes me nostalgic for my youth.
“I guess grumpy cowboys are a big hit in the city?”
I uncharacteristically allow a small upturn in my lips. “I do alright.”
“Anyone special?” he asks.
“Nope. I’m having too much fun. I’m in no rush. Not like you. Maddie will be happy that you’ll finally be home for good next month.”
His face twists a bit.
My shoulders fall. “What am I missing?” I suck in a breath. “Don’t you fucking tell me you re-enlisted for another four years.”
He shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. They’ve asked me to stay on an extra six months to assist in training the new recruits, but don’t worry, I said no. I thought about it for a hot second. The extra money would be nice, I could buy Maddie the ring I know she wants, but I’m done. It’s time for me to come home. It’s time for my life to begin. One more month, and then it’s civilian life for me.”
I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself. Either way, I sense trepidation. Without hesitation, I offer, “I’ll pay for the ring. Please just come home as scheduled.”
He immediately stiffens. “I’m not a fucking charity case, nineteen. Don’t make me say it again.”
“I know. You’re my best friend, and I love you. I just want you home and safe.” I give a genuine smile. “Plus, I might want to build my dream house in a few years. I need my favorite architect to get his degree so he can design it.”
His shoulders relax. “I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I have only ever asked two things of you.” He holds up two fingers.
I turnmy head back to the road, unable to even consider what he’s implying. “Yeah, yeah. I don’t want to talk about it.”
He’s never accepted a dime from me, but we’ve had many conversations over the years where he’s asked that if something ever happened to him, I would always look after Sulley and Maddie. He’s made me promise that to him no less than a hundred times.
Fortunately, he drops the subject and looks at his watch again. “Mom said they’re announcing her at exactly seventeen-fifteen...errr…five-fifteen.”
I’m going over a hundred miles per hour. I nod. “We’ll make it.”
At five-fourteen, we pull into the parking lot of our old high school. I speed through until we reach the gymnasium entrance, where we both quickly exit the car and run inside, leaving my truck illegally parked out front.
The gym is packed to the gills with people and the press, including ESPN cameras. Stated simply, Sulley O’Shea has put our school and our hometown on the map. We had some attention when I played here, but nothing like this. She’s widely considered the best high school basketball player in the nation and got a full ride to college for next year. She had her pick of any school in the country and is headed out to a college in California. Thanks to her, the high school team is undefeated and the top seed going into the state tournament next week. Tonight is their last regular-season home game. Sulley’s senior night. It took a lot of string-pulling, but Finn was granted a forty-eight-hour leave of absence to be here. She has no idea. He’s surprising her.
